Top Tours

Vancouver Private Walking Tour of Downtown Chinatown and Gastown

"Mobsters! Opium! Booze! Delve into Vancouver's dirtiest secrets with your private group on this scandal fueled walking tour.In 1917 Prohibition hit Vancouver harder than a slug of bathtub gin knocking the city to its knees. Saloon doors swung closed for good forcing law-abiding citizens into an underground world of bootlegged spirits and illicit activity. Mob bosses set up scores of illegal drinking dens and dirty cops were paid to look the other way. Vancouver’s longest-running mayor L.D. Taylor emerged from the chaos soon notorious for his shadowy past raucous parties and underworld ties. When the U.S. followed suit with their own prohibition three years later

Vancouver Private Day Tour and Capilano Suspension Bridge

"Experience the beauty of the Pacific on this 5-hour private tour in the comfort of a private SUV with sunroof. Forget about crowded buses or following other people's timelines. On this private tour get to know the places that interest you and suit the needs of your group or family. Be a traveler not a tourist. Your Vancouver day trip starts with pickup from your hotel. Your private local guide will give you a comprehensive tour of Vancouver's major attractions and highlights such as Stanley Park Chinatown Gastown and Granville Park. Then drive over the beautiful Lion’s Gate Bridge

Independent Bike Tour of Vancouver

"Depart from the downtown shop location on a memorable day of your choosing. From the hip trendy boutiques of historical Gastown to hunting steamed buns in a reborn Chinatown. From drinking in the cafe culture of Main Street to soaking up the sun on the e all of Vancouver is at your reach. This city has incomparable views of mountains and gleaming skylines from every turn. From the world-famous seawall cycling path you can directly access diverse attractions such as Science World Stanley Park English Bay the Olympic Village Granville Island

Commercial Drive Tips (10)

Commercial Drive ("the Drive") used to be Vancouver's Little Italy, however, in the past few decades its identity has evolved to become Vancouver's bohemian culture pot. Think of San Francisco's Haight Ashbury or Melbourne's Brunswick Street. Commercial Drive is Vancouver's home to a community of artists, hippies, musicians, lesbians, activists, vegans, punks and immigrants. It's eclectic and eccentric, fun, laid back, and even a slightly bit gritty.

Commercial Drive is possibly the most community-oriented neighbourhood in the city, and being one of the first residential neighbourhoods in Vancouver, it has had the time to evolve and mature. I love spending an hour or two on the Drive, especially when it's sunny. The atmosphere's alive like a summer street in Montréal with busy patios, socializing locals, and buskers on street corners. There can be a certain vibrancy to the Drive and yet, it's a very chilled out kind of place.

If you're into organic food, unique boutiques, Italian espresso shops, fresh gelato, old school European delis, poetry, cafe culture, political and environmental activism, alternative lifestyles and a place where you can get a feel for what it might be like to actually live in Vancouver, this is the place.

If you're lucky enough to visit around Halloween, the Drive hosts the "Night of Lost Souls" - a parade and community festival celebrating the spirit of Halloween. Lanterns, stilt-walkers, fire-breathers, and many mystical costumes are a part of this parade.

Though Commercial Drive does have its cons, it offers a unique window into Vancouver society. It's also off the tourist radar and caters primarily to the locals. As a result, there are more service oriented businesses and casual restaurants than boutique shops, although the shops that exist tend to have a lot of personality. And the hidden secret, in my opinion, are the side streets where you'll find mature trees lining the streets, beautiful gardens, and colourful heritage homes.

I guess most tourists don't necessarily make it to Commercial Drive but since my friend Catherine lives just off The Drive, I got to spend a fair bit of time in that area. Commercial Drive stands out thanks to its diversity (it used to be known as Little Italy, but I guess it's more like a Latin Quarter now, with many Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French-speaking residents), funky shops and restaurants. It is one of the oldest residential "surburbs" in Vancouver, and the streets bordering Commercial Drive are full of centennial houses which have now been taken over by young families. The Drive itself is not the prettiest street in Vancouver, but if you take the time to shop around between Broadway and Venables St., you'll discover cool used bookstores, unique clothing stores, and plenty of cafes and restaurants with sidewalk terraces. There is a strong sense of community in this area, and many events are organized by residents throughout the year - feel free to join them! I guess you could compare The Drive to Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montreal? It's got a great atmosphere all day long, but it might be best to avoid the area surrounding the Broadway/Commercial Dr skytrain station at night - not that it is particularly unsafe, but junkies tend to gather around there at night.

Commercial Drive is a very good place to find out how Vancouver was built. In that, I mean, you will find shops, restaurants, etc. serving cuisines from all over the world, which shows just how multicultural Vancouver is. The eclectic vibe this street evokes creates a perfect venue for a tastebud playground. Some of Vancouver's best restaurants are on this street, and just walking down the street is an experience in itself.

Generally, the best thing to do is to go there for dinner (one of the many great restaurants) and then walk up and down for a while in the evening. See some of my other tips for restaurants hidden on The Drive.

My friend Ed (Kaspian) suggested that I should visit Commercial Drive on my visit to Vancouver and I'm glad we did stop because it was one of my favorite places in Vancouver, I could have spent my entire trip eating my way up and down this street! You'll find nice Italian restaurants next to the kebab shop next to the organic grocery store, ironically it's one of the least commercial streets in Vancouver, I don't remember seeing even one Starbucks the whole way up and down! Ed insists there is one, do Canadians have a special Starbucks radar? Or do they just give you a map so you'll never go without coffee for more than 15 minutes? ;-)

You may hear Commercial Drive referred to as simply "The Drive", they even had this carved into the sidewalk as you can see in the attached photo. It's roughly 12 blocks from Venables Street to East 6th Avenue.

Commercial Drive is a great place to spend an afternoon, perusing the shops and sampling the many kinds of cuisine. From every hemp product imagineable, to hiking gear, it is all here for the avid shopper. It has a really laid back feel to it, so much as I was approached on the street and offered to purchase a famous green natural resource.

Like many cities, Vancouver seems to have an overabundance of chain stores & restaurants. If you'd like to see something a lot more unique then head over to Commercial Drive.

This area was originally Vancouver's Little Italy. While it still holds this moniker, there are now restaurants of most every other ethnic persuasion there too. Combine this with fascinating little art, clothing, coffee, and gelato shops and you have a most interesting (and different!) part of Vancouver to explore.

Commercial Drive is worth checking out. I love going there on a Saturday afternoon for a great Italian cappucino and pastry. Then walk around and check out all the interesting shops/bakeries/cafes/etc. This street is laidback and very interesting.

jamiesno

spitball

joiwatani

This is my neighbourhood, so I have to say it's good. This is the old Italian neighbourhood of Vancouver and has some excellent Italian cafes, restaurants and delis. There is little to no nightlife here, in fact the city prohibits it, but it only takes 15 mins to get downtown by public transportation. On the weekends it is hopping with trendy coffee drinkers and stoned hippies. It also has a few good Ethiopian restaurants and some good, cheap Jamaican and Mexican food.

Alternative businesses and a diverse and funky street scene. COOLEST STREET SCENE IN VANCOUVER. Lots of artists, activists and other alternative types hang out there. Great RESTAURANTS and CAFES. The perfect place to go for lunch/coffee/beer and spend an afternoon window shopping and PEOPLE WATCHING.

Chinatown

We stopped here because we had half an hour to spare. It was colourful, as are all Chinatowns I guess, and initially we were fascinated at the wares on show, especially the dried seafood and some of...

Science World

Walking at False Creek you will have outstanding image is of this ball. The Science Museum of Vancouver is set in a striking building with a geodesic dome. This 47 meter high dome was built in honor...

Dr Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Gardens

Located next to the Chinese Cultural Central, (the one with the green roof), is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
The first of its kind, outside of China, the garden was built in 1986, and...

Gastown

Gastown is a modern and trendy residential neighborhood with boutiques, tourist shops, restaurants, and clubs. Gastown is a hub for technology and new media. Popular annual events that take place on...